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Alongside our partners in the Creative Industries Federation, we published a study on Wednesday which predicts a ‘cultural catastrophe’ awaiting the UK due to Covid-19, with forecasts of revenue decline and significant job losses across the sector. The news means that innovative solutions to kick-start growth, such as our proposal for a tax credit for advertising, will be crucial to safeguarding the sector as we leave lockdown.
The UK’s creative sector was previously growing at five times the rate of the wider economy, employing over 2 million people and contributing £111.7 billion to the economy. But the new report, ‘The Projected Economic Impact of Covid-19 on the UK Creative Industries’, projects that the creative sector will be hit twice as hard as the wider economy in 2020. Within our own industry, advertising and market research could see turnover drop by £19 billion, with job losses of 49,000.
Our Chief Executive Stephen Woodford commented: “We are working closely with Government to protect and rebuild the UK’s advertising industry, both within the UK as a vital engine of our economy, but also as a global hub with international trading partners. Top of the list is how a tax credit for advertising could help get the UK economy rapidly firing on all cylinders again. We also need to see the most ambitious international marketing campaign possible from Government for our creative industries, particularly with Brexit looming. We are ready to make all of this happen fast and with real impact.”
Read the full story over on our website here.
On Wednesday morning we held our latest C-19 Impact Information Sharing call, where we were joined by members alongside civil servants from DCMS, BEIS and DIT. The group discussed the Creative Industries Federation report, ideas for recovery measures, including industry proposals such as exploring professional development grants for industry bodies to provide new skills training, as well as the Government guarantee for credit insurance, and Brexit and HFSS matters.
In other Covid-19 news, our President, Keith Weed, has been busy spreading the word about the need for advertising to be central to the UK’s recovery from Covid-19 and the vital importance our industry can play to help businesses grow faster out of a downturn. You can see Keith in action here in an interview with Stephen Lepitak for The Drum’s Can Do Festival, which was also written up in an article here. Keith also provided an op-ed in support of Campaign’s drive to ‘fight for advertising’ in its latest issue which you can read here.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic we have been keeping our Government advice page on our website up to date with the latest changes and announcements and have included links to where you can claim for schemes such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. You can check that out here. We’ve also been tracking the latest news and opinion pieces from industry media on the virus, which you can find here.
Check out our industry Government Covid-19 hub here.
On Tuesday, the All Party Political Group on Gambling Related Harm published their final report in the ‘Online Gambling Harm Inquiry’. One of the key recommendations of the report is ‘a ban on all gambling advertising’. In response, our Chief Executive Stephen Woodford issued a statement:
“Now more than ever, it is essential that all parts of the advertising industry fulfil their responsibilities to the highest standards to the UK, both economically and socially. We ask all gambling operators and their agencies to continue to adhere to the strict standards set by the ASA and the Gambling Commission. At this time, we believe a total ban is not necessary – such an action has wide implications, particularly for the support of sports across media channels, something enjoyed by millions of people right across the UK.”
You can read the statement in full over on our website here.
Despite the situation we are currently in, we have never seen a greater push from Adland doing brilliant creative and entrepreneurial work in response to COVID-19. This is why we have a dedicated COVID-19 category on our Ad Pays 8 hub, which highlights industry work that has a positive contribution to society. This week, check out our member The APA’s Covid-19 shooting guidelines for production companies here.
You’ve made it this far – why not treat yourself and watch our ad of the week?
Want the full edition to land in your inbox every Friday? Drop us an email on aa@adassoc.org.uk and quote ‘Ad Matters’.
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